Unforeseen Consequences(2)

In an abandoned cathedral with a hole in the roof from which the outside sunlight was entering the structure, Rodeo, whose eyes were not glowing was lying motionless on the ground with his entire body wrapped in steel chains and special leather gloves on his hands with certain special straps fitted to prevent his fingers from moving, no doubt made by karl Heisenberg. 

Mother Miranda, the Four Lords, the daughters of Alcina Dimitrescu and Urias, and a few numbers of Lycans were all present there. Donna was sitting on a chair, and like a curious child, was observing Rodeo's phone, which they had taken from his hollow stomach compartment. While Miranda and Moreau stood, Alcina, who was now a wearing a new dress and hat of black velvet color, was seated on a chair, Heisenberg was seated on a wooden bench, Angie was standing next to the motionless Rodeo's body and patting his head trying to wake him up, and lastly the three daughters of Dimitrescu were standing next to their mother. 

"None of you could deal with one man who appeared out of nowhere without my knowledge?" Miranda questioned Alcina with a severe scowl hidden under her mask.

"Mother Miranda, we thought our numbers and our strength alone would be enough to deal with him," Alcina, the tall lady herself, explained, "Overconfidence and not knowing how his powers worked got the best of us, and we didn't find our mutated forms necessary for this cat, who was no pushover when it came to combat. We underestimated him."

Karl chuckled in his seat, "And did you realize that in your big head before or after you got sent flying through many houses and blowing you up." he said with an amused smirk.

"...You saw it happen, didn't you?" Alcina asked him with a glare.

"And it was worth it, hahahahahahahahaha!" Karl begins to laugh, while Alcina clenches her smoke pipe tightly and growls at his behavior.

"Will mother and Heisenberg ever get along?" Daniela asked as she stood in the distance.

"I highly doubt it." Cassandra replied.

Meanwhile, Angie stood near Rodeo, still attempting to wake him up.

"Wakie wakie. Hello? Anyone home?" 

Knocking his head twice, before Angie knew, Rodeo's eyes instantly started glowing back up and immediately rose to his upper body.

"Damn it! I forgot to ask him when Half Life 3 is coming out!!" 

As he shouts, his eyes shift slightly and sees Angie's creepy wooden face staring at him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Silence!" Miranda yelled in a commanding tone, her three pairs of black wings sprouting from her back as her voice booming throughout the abandoned cathedral.

This caused Rodeo and Angie to immediately cease their screaming when they heard her. Angie returned to Donna, who had given Rodeo's phone, and she, too, began inspecting it like a curious child. Rodeo noticed that all eyes were on him. Considerable inquisitive stares, as well as considerable rage, particularly from Alcina and Karl. 

Rodeo tried to move his fingers, but the gloves' special straps prohibited them from doing so. His entire body was tied in steel chains, and his injuries from today's fight were still present. So trying to escape or try anything stupid now is a death sentence. 

"So... what's up?" 

Karl responded, "Oh, I'll tell you what's up. What's up is the fact you humiliated four of us lords in the village, dealt with us and our lycans like it was a piece of cake, and this." 

Beside him, Bela placed Rodeo's high-tech MTF armor on the ground. As soon as she places it near him, Miranda asks.

"Just who are you exactly, and what do these emblems on this armor of yours mean?"

"You really want to know?" 

"I do."

"I won't tell you about the emblems, but I will give you my name so that we get to... understand each other."

"Finally!" said Karl in the background.

"Then what is your name?"

"My name is... Rodeo."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Uhhhh hello?" 

Before Rodeo could understand what's going on, everyone in the cathedral burst out laughing.

"Bwahahahahahahahahaha! That name is fucking ridiculous!" Karl remarked as he continued to laugh.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! It's so stupid!" Angie the doll added, while her holder, Donna, was also lightly laughing behind her veil, not wanting to show her amused face and Miranda was keeping her composure but did let out a few chuckles secretly due to the absurd yet hilarious name, even Urias and some of the lycans chuckled as well... somehow. 

Who says bad guys can't have a laugh once in a while? 

"Yeah! Yeah! Laugh it up everyone! Be amused!" Rodeo grumbled in annoyance.

Finally everyone stopped laughing and regained their composure.

"Well... Rodeo, where do you come from? We've never seen anything like you before." Miranda once again asked.

"Believe me, my sudden appearance here was due to some... bizarre and anomalous circumstances, which I won't elaborate on."

Furrowing his brows, Karl stood up from his seat, and muttered, "Oh, you little-"

"Easy, Heisenberg." Miranda interrupted Karl by raising her hand, "If he won't tell us, then he will when he wants to... or we force him to."

"Yes, mother Miranda."

"Good." Miranda said, returning her gaze at Rodeo, "I'd wish to give you a chance, and we might forgive you for today's events."

"I'm all ears."

"Alright then. First, let me introduce myself: My name is Mother Miranda. Leader of the four houses and ruler of this village."

"Nice to meet you."

"Do you know how the four lords here got their powers?"

"No."

"I gave them the Cadou, the Romanian word for gift." Miranda explained, "If you wish to join us and become part of our... family, we will give you the cadou, set you free, and forgive you for today's events."

Miranda's statements stunned Alcina and Karl, who both rose up and retorted.

"I object to this!" "Mother Miranda!"

"Explanation on why you wish to object to this choice I'm giving him?" Miranda questioned the two as she centered her gaze on them.

"Because his explosive abilities are dangerous." Alcina explained.

"And we might accidentally create a very dangerous being out of him if you give him the cadou," Karl added, "It's too risky, mother Miranda."

"Awww, you two care about me." Rodeo teased.

"We don't. We care about our lives." Alcina and Karl responded coldly.

"Both of your reasons are understandable, and after hearing from you Heisenberg on how his powers work, I agree that it will be a big risk. But then again, I want to hear his choice." Miranda stated as she returned her gaze at Rodeo, "Have you decided?" she asked.

"Yes, and I decided to refuse the cadou."

"Then you have doomed yourself to a fate worse than death."

"But I will take the Cadou if…"

"If?" 

"...If you set me free and allow me to explore the village, the places where your four lords live, how you do things and why you do them, and if I finally think it's actually worth joining you, then I will accept the cadou and be part of your family."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Where I'm going with this is that I can't just straight up join someone without getting to know them and their rules and come to a logical decision, but I will say this: if I don't find it worthwhile to join you, then I will stop whatever you're doing with a buttload of explosions and fist fights."

"...And how am I supposed to believe that you won't take advantage of this opportunity to escape and seek help?"

"Mother Miranda, I'm a man of my word, and when I say something will happen, I will make it happen." Rodeo stated, "If you don't believe me, you can keep someone in charge too... well, keep an eye on me if I try to pull a stunt. So how about it then?"

It seems pretty stupid for Rodeo to make that decision, but the reason he was doing this was one, he was gravely injured and Bites the Dust will rewind him back to the moment he fell from the sky. Two, going up against Miranda, whether injured or not, is a death sentence, especially with the Megamycete lurking beneath the village. Three, he needs enough time for either 507 to return to pick him up or find a way to escape the village and make contact with Chris Redfield or Leon Scott Kennedy. He was attempting to buy time for himself and an opportunity to arrive at that time and capitalize on that opportunity to his advantage.

"...Very well, I accept it." Miranda said, and her acceptance once again caused Alcina and Karl to protest.

"But-"

"My decision is final, and if he even attempts to do anything suspicious or against our work here, eliminate him immediately." Miranda told them, "He is now a special guest to our village. Treat him well... for now."

"Yes, mother Miranda." Alcina and Karl both sighed softly, they had no choice but to agree.

Taking away her attention aside from the two, Miranda turns to Urias and commands, "Release him, Urias."

Approaching Rodeo's direction, Urias ripped the steel chains off of Rodeo with ease. He barely rose up and found his gloves had been removed off his hands by Karl.

"You're lucky, kid." Karl said, "But your luck will run out eventually." 

"We'll see about that."

"But be aware, Rodeo, that if you try to do anything, not only will you suffer the consequences, but so will the ones living in the village." Miranda added.

"I'm well aware," Rodeo nodded his head as he extended his hand, "Now my phone."

"This thing?" Angie asked, holding his phone. 

Using his magnetic abilities, Karl snatched the phone from her hands and brought it to his.

"This is a phone?" Karl inquired, examining the device in curiosity. "Since when it became a wireless small flat box?"

"The first of those things were first invented in 1992, and it's a lot more advanced than the models you may have, and I promise I won't make contact anyone."

Instead of giving it Rodeo, Karl gave the phone to Miranda. 

"I'm keeping it because I'm not taking any chances with you." Miranda said, "This meeting is over and... Rodeo, I'll give you a whole week here in the village before returning to me once you've made your decision."

As soon as she said that, her black wings expanded and flew out of the hole in the roof and leaves, followed by the Lycans as they left, leaving Rodeo with the four lords and the daughters of Dimitrescu as they all stared at him. 

"...cough! cough!" he coughed.

As the awkward silence lingered, Daniela stood near Rodeo and asked.

"...Can I pet your ears?"

"No!"

"😢 *sniffs*"

Seeing her cry, Rodeo felt a chill run down his spine, he glanced in the direction of the source to see Alcina's threatening glare.

Alcina: ゴゴゴゴゴゴ

"Uhhhh, I mean yes."

With a genuine expression, Daniela proceeded to pet his ears while Rodeo began to dwell in his thoughts.

'What have I gotten myself into?' 

Staring at the scene with an uninterested expression, Karl Heisenberg placed his hammer over his shoulders and turned around to leave.

"I'm leaving. Come on, Moreau." Karl remarked as he walked away, followed by Moreau.

'I can't believe mother Miranda is keeping him alive, but people like him don't last long. He'll meet his faith sooner or later,' Alcina thought as she prepared to leave also.

Back at Rodeo, as he sat there contemplating and ignoring Daniela continuing on petting his ears, he then noticed someone was standing on the hole in the roof staring at him.  

The G-man. 

"!?"

"Be prepared Mr. Rodeo."

Alcina spotted Rodeo staring at the hole on the roof, suspecting something was wrong, she looked up at the roof but saw no one. 

"?" 

Forgetting the peculiar feeling, she looks at her daughters, especially Daniela to move.

Watching as they left, Rodeo ended up sighing.

"I hope I survive this place."

Now Rodeo was given a chance to stay alive for one week. All he had to do was to find a route back home and save this village, but he had to tread carefully here. One can only imagine what could happen here, and with the G-man being here with a warning, no doubt things are bound to get out of hand soon. 

"Hey, Rodeo." 

Interrupting his thoughts, he glances down to see Angie staring at him.

"Yes?" 

"What's half life 3?"

"A thing that has yet to happen and yet to be announced about."

":/ Oh."

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– SCP Universe-[REDACTED], Caverns Underneath a Forest, West Virginia, America - 11:00 PM –

The Forces of the Hell Dimension, who went to mount Foraker this morning were resting, while the others, particularly the Immoran troopers, were using their advanced technology to track down the argent crystal, and Marauder was showing off his Stand Firestarter to Revenant and Imp, while the Sentinel Mech and hell ships were on standby. 

"This being called 'Stand' what these humans called can manipulate magma and morph it into any shape," Marauder stated to the two, pointing to his Stand as it constructs an axe made entirely of magma.

"Rise."

"Finally, a weapon that can surpass metal gear, destroy the toughest of steel, and... create hot springs." Revenant commented.

"Oh, I'm totally up for a hot spring bath." Imp added. 

"I hate you both." Marauder said to them. Shortly after, he noticed an Immoran trooper approaching them. 

"We might have a problem." 

"Say it."

"We lost track of the argent crystal signal, because I believe its signal is being kept hidden."

With his soul-tearing eyes glowing in ablaze, the Marauder cracked his knuckles and demanded, "By what exactly?"

"I'm not sure, but whoever it is, he or she is a genius in hiding the argent crystal energy. When we also sent some troops to track the person that the Cyberdemon saw that took the crystal away, the troops came back injured, and according to them, all of those injuries they received are caused by the environment around them, even a single drop of water tore through their armor and injures them severely, so we've halted all search operations for the time being."

"We've reached a dead end." Marauder grumbled in anger, "If we don't get the crystal, our plans for freeing the Scarlet King and launching a multiverse invasion will be thwarted. And what about our three humans from the Children of the Scarlet King faction doing?"

"They're gathering information regarding the Global Occult Coalition so that we can be prepared in case they strike with some new weapon and technology." The Immoran Trooper stated, adding, "The General also managed to contact us from the hell dimension, so I informed him about the situation here, and he's not happy."

"Where the hell could they have taken it?"

——————————————————————

An abandoned Chaos Insurgency facility was shown in the cold lands of Antarctica, and within its rooms, a machine formed like a cylinder made out of metal, with four electrical rods on top, the rods were conducting sparks of red electricity, and inside the cylinder was the Argent Crystal.

Frank Fontaine, the one who has become Wonder of U, was staring at the machine. Looking above, he saw a blob-like creature emerge from the vents and plummet to the floor. 

The blob was of yellow color, and in fact, this was no ordinary blob. 

This was the Stand, Yellow Temperance. 

"Are you gonna take shape or what?"

As soon as he heard his words, Yellow Temperance began to transform and took its human shape of the one who has become the Stand Yellow Temperance. This is the person Frank contacted on the phone at the end of chapter 175.

It was...

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Ultimis Edward Richthofen.

[IMAGES]

"Zis is true science, mein friend. Vith zis machine, ve can not only keep ze crystal conceal but alzo tap into its raw energy... IT'S TRULY VONDERFUL!" Yellow Temperance, who was revealed to be none other than Ultimis Edward Richthofen, said with a maniacal smile.

"I get it, doc, but how long will it take for us to make weapons out of this crystal?" 

"Ja, ve can, but zis... its energy is not like zee Dark Aether, which I've dealt with before." Edward chuckled as he stared at the spot where the argent crystal was located in amazement, "However, the Dark Aether is a different kind of madness, and zo is zis... SCP world." he turned at Frank, and said, "You see, Mr. Frank, ve are mad men of ambition and science. Ve are ready to make breakthroughs, take risks and above all else vant to make ein name for ourselves. Vu vant business and I vant to know more about Agartha but after becoming... zis blob, I'm on full stop."

Approaching the machine's instruments monitoring the argent crystal, he continued.

"But with zis, zere is ein chance. I can't beat you Frank, and vu can't kill me because of Yellow Temperance having no weakness to attacks. Ve are unkillable. Unapproachable. Ve are monsters to be contained by the SCP Foundation. Weapons to the Chaos Insurgency. Threats neeted to be eliminated by the Global Occult Coalition. And friends to be made by zee Serpent's Hand. Ve are none of zat, Mr. Frank Fontaine. Ve are men who got here in zis world by a twist of fate."

"Then we'll make sure that fate favors us and that it will help us in achieving our goals. We'll get what we want, Edward, and I'm willing to tear down entire organizations for it. We're gonna make them burn should they stop us." Frank remarked, "But anyways regarding the weapons…"

"Ja. Give me a few days and zey vill be ready for you to do whatever vu vant with zen once they're ready. Zis crystal vill keep me awake, but I'm ein human who has become a Stand according to one of your friends, vo is alzo a Stand telling us zat ve can't sleep, zo I don't need sleep."

"Got it. Good luck on the job." Frank replied as he walked out of the room.

Seeing him leaving, Edward smiles, "Great things are about to happen in zis world of anomalies and zee supernatural..."

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"And they will fear it."

———

Hope you enjoyed today's chapter. Consider following me, voting for my stories and keeping yourselves notified for more chapters. Thank you. 

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In a room within Castle Dimitrescu , Rodeo was lying on a bed with a huge load of white bandage wrapped over his chest, head, legs, and arms after this morning. Following Miranda's earlier decision, he opted to stay at Castle Dimitrescu and explore the rest of the village and houses later. He wasn't given healing vials to heal himself instantly, which lady Alcina Dimitrescu most likely did to keep him vulnerable and weak. His armor was also taken away, and was being retained by Donna and Angie.

"Got one week of staying in the village as a special guest. Didn't get killed by Miranda and the rest. My phone is gone... again. The G-man is walking among us, and I've survived for today thanks to these words of persuasion of mine." Rodeo sighed, "Well, let's hope nothing goes wrong and whatever threat G-man mentioned isn't too much to deal with."

——————————————————————

In a cave far in the outskirts of the village, something dark and sinister lurked within its depths...

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A Dark Aether Orb.

[IMAGES]

Soon after, something emerges from the strange object, revealing itself to be a creature with orange flashing eyes and appearing... very dead, yet alive at the same time.  

As soon as it stepped out of the dark purplish sphere, the creature let out a deafening roar that rang throughout the cave, a roar that would frighten the very soul.

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Sound: ???

Link: https://youtu.be/7prCccfCJUw

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